Daily Bread 2010 - Acts 16
Daily Bread 2010 - Acts 16
Lydia's Conversion in Philippi
11From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. 12From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
13On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. 15When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.
As we see Paul being led by the Holy Spirit to go some places and not go some places, he ends up in Philippi. It was a leading city in Macedonia (Modern Day North-Eastern Greece) and located on a key and strategic trade route and also near some valuable gold mines.
On this Sabbath Day, Paul departed from his normal practice of preaching in the Synagogue and went down to the River where he expected to find a place of prayer. There listening, was an influential woman named, Lydia, who dealt in purple cloths. Purple was expensive because it was a hard color to create.
Lydia was already a worshipper of God, and Paul’s message she received as the Lord opened her heart to respond. We know Lydia was an influential person as she opened up her home and all it were baptized (a sign that she was a person of significance). Also there was room for Paul and his companions which showed she had means. We don’t know if she was single, widowed or married, but she used her influence to start the Philippian church. She could have been the first pastor, overseer of the first church plant in Europe.
This is also a key passage that shows us that God used men and women (see also Phoebe and Dorcas) in leadership in the early church. These cases are used to show that God desires to use women and men be influential in the spread of the Gospel today as well.
Prayer: God thank you for Lydia’s desire to seek you and be used by you to use her skills and business savvy to extend your kingdom. May we also use all we have given us for your glory, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Lydia's Conversion in Philippi
11From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. 12From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
13On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. 15When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.
As we see Paul being led by the Holy Spirit to go some places and not go some places, he ends up in Philippi. It was a leading city in Macedonia (Modern Day North-Eastern Greece) and located on a key and strategic trade route and also near some valuable gold mines.
On this Sabbath Day, Paul departed from his normal practice of preaching in the Synagogue and went down to the River where he expected to find a place of prayer. There listening, was an influential woman named, Lydia, who dealt in purple cloths. Purple was expensive because it was a hard color to create.
Lydia was already a worshipper of God, and Paul’s message she received as the Lord opened her heart to respond. We know Lydia was an influential person as she opened up her home and all it were baptized (a sign that she was a person of significance). Also there was room for Paul and his companions which showed she had means. We don’t know if she was single, widowed or married, but she used her influence to start the Philippian church. She could have been the first pastor, overseer of the first church plant in Europe.
This is also a key passage that shows us that God used men and women (see also Phoebe and Dorcas) in leadership in the early church. These cases are used to show that God desires to use women and men be influential in the spread of the Gospel today as well.
Prayer: God thank you for Lydia’s desire to seek you and be used by you to use her skills and business savvy to extend your kingdom. May we also use all we have given us for your glory, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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